Invisible ― Jason Grace

iv. invisible girl meets invisible nymph

"WHO IS AUNT ROSA?" Camilla asked as they walked. 

Leo shook his head. "Long story," he said. "She abandoned me after my mom died, gave me to foster care." 

"I'm sorry," she said. 

Leo shrugged like it didn't matter, but Camilla knew it did. She'd spent her entire life in foster care, and there were more bad homes than good in her experience. 

"You saw your mom?" he asked her. 

Camilla nodded stiffly. "She left me at a firehouse when I was a baby so she could go gallivanting with the Amazon warriors without having to deal with a kid," she muttered. "I grew up in foster care until I was eleven." 

Leo looked over at her. "That's rough," he said, clearly speaking from experience. 

"Yeah," Camilla said quietly. 

Leo turned to Hazel. "What about you? What Nemesis said about your brother?"

Hazel blinked like she'd gotten salt in her eyes. "Nico... he found me in the Underworld. He brought me back to the mortal world and convinced the Romans at Camp Jupiter to accept me. I owe him for my second chance at life. If Nemesis is right, and Nico's in danger... I have to help him." 

"We will," Camilla reassured her friend. 

"And what Nemesis said about your brother having six days to live, and Rome getting destroyed... any idea what she meant?" Leo asked. 

"None," Hazel admitted. "But I'm afraid..." 

Whatever she was thinking, she decided not to share it. She climbed one of the largest boulders to get a better view. Leo tried to follow and lost his balance. Hazel caught his hand. She pulled him up and they found themselves atop the rock, holding hands, face-to-face. 

Once again, Camilla felt like she was intruding on a private moment. 

Leo let go of Hazel's hand. "Um, thanks."

Hazel helped Camilla onto the boulder, then looked back at Leo. "When we were talking to Nemesis, your hands... I saw flames." 

"Yeah," he said. "It's a Hephaestus power. Usually I can keep it under control." 

"Oh." Hazel put one hand protectively over her denim jacket, where Camilla assumed Frank's half-burned stick was stored. 

Camilla gazed across the island. The opposite shore was only a few hundreds away. Between here and there were dunes and clumps of bounders, but nothing that looked like a reflecting pool. 

You've always been invisible, Nemesis had told her. And when you find that purpose you're so desperate for, it'll be the most painful thing you ever go through. 

But hadn't Camilla gone through enough pain? She's spent her entire life as an orphan, wondering who her parents were, why they gave her up, whether they ever loved her in the first place. Then she found out she was a demigod, and her godly parent still refused to claim her. And when he did claim her, he'd all but told her he'd waited because he favored Percy over her. 

What could be more painful than that?

"Milla, Leo," Hazel said gently. "You can't take what Nemesis said to heart."

Leo frowned. "What if it's true?" 

"She's the goddess of revenge," Hazel reminded him. "Maybe she's on our side, maybe not; but she exists to stir up resentment." 

Leo sighed. "We should keep going," he said. "I wonder what Nemesis meant about finishing before dark."

Hazel glanced at the sun, which was just touching the horizon. "And who is the cursed boy she mentioned?"